Mailing boxes



Jan. 22, 1957 o. u. B. J. BRUNAA MAILING BOXES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 21, 1953 Jan. 22, 1957 o. u. B. J. BRUNAA MAILING BOXES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1953 INVENTOR.

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,One of the objects of the invention is to provideia mail- .ing box or carton which is simp in de ig @1163? in.

manufacture and presents a; smooth surface so as to facilifate-stacking ofthe boxes for, mailing purpose. Another 7 object of the invention is. to provide fora pleasing appearance of the contentsof the mailing box by designing the box so as to avoid damage of the contents thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to procure a mailing ibOX' or carton which is able to resist rough handling and toobtainlthis; .bydesigning and assembling the box as willlapp ear from the following specification. In

United States Patent A: Q 2,778,561 f Patented J nna 1957 part'of the lid, the free front edge of which lies close to the-,.upper-;edge of the front walhand the edge flaps of the jlid are omitted on said foremost part, said edge ,flaps alongthe end edgesof the closing flap being" adapted to be bent around and secured to the flanges of the end walls while. the foremost part of the lid lS'Slll'. normal .to the plane ofthefront wallaattwd spaced pointsthe distanee between which is smallen than ;the..distance between he end w t e- I Thus, the flatinne'r surface-of theylid covers the entire surface of the contents during,transportation so that impressions thereon bya the ed'ge of the closing flap are avoided, whereas in knownjhoxes of'thekind in question theclosing flap is located beneaththc=lforen1ost part of the ylidto support'the seiner-1f rtheiedge of the. closing flap "is, glued. o the upper side ofthe lid .byfimeans of a sealing tape as generally used',;,saidtapecaribe-readily cut with a knife or other suitable tool wit-hout the tool zengaging Y the contents ,of' the 'jbox but merely engaging .the outer addition, the invention has for a further ohject'totprovide for a mailing box which may be readily opened atthe destination without distorting the contents of'the box.

.. The features of thisinvention'which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claim, The invention itself, however, may be bestunderstood by reference to the'following detailed specification and the accompanying drawinginwhich:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of. a mailing box or carton according to theinvention, ready to'receive the contents to be mailed;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the box when being closed;

Figure 3 shows the box ready to be mailed; and

Figure 4 shows the box when opened at the destination place.

The mailing box or carton according'to the invention, is made of cardboard or like fibrous material and consists mainly of inset end walls provided with outwardly protrudingflanges, and edge flaps on the bottom, front wall, rear wall and a lid connected to the rear wall of the box, said flaps extending along the edges adjacent to the end walls and lying against the inner surface of the end wall flanges and being secured to the latter when the box is closed, and a closing flap being connected to the upper edge of the front wall of the box or carton.

Such boxes or car-tons are for example used for shipping butter and when stacked in a plurality of layersin the bulk, the lower boxes are exposed to a considerable load; Moreover, when the stacks have grown to the height of a man, workpeople are inclined to walk without any care on boxes or carton-s previously stacked and such boxes will thus be subjected to serious local stresses. For this reason the connection between the different parts of such boxes has to be made as strong as possible.

In addition to the need for strength in mailing boxes of the kind referred to, it is necessary that upon arriving at their destination the boxes should be capable of being opened without damaging or I dis-ordering the contents thereof, since the box-es may be used for exhibition of 5 are entirely covered by the closing flap 14 in the closed the contents without their being unpacked. Whether the contents are a material in the form of paste such as butter, or a plurality of smaller packages it is necessary in order to obtain a pleasing appearance of the contents, that the surface of the latter be smooth and undamaged.

In order to be capable of fulfilling the above requirements, the mailing box according to the invention is formed so that the closing flap extends over the foremost surface offthelid and'the-inneresurface of'the closing flap; The edge flaps of the closing flap may then be cut in a, similar way and, u on ope ing of the closing'flap, the "foremost part;'-of..thew lid between the two spaced points can then be', swung'opento expose to View the contents of thecartong -The closing flap may be providedwith indications or weakening-lines normal to. the? free-edge thereof and -sp-aced a distance Which-i5 smaller than or equal to the end walls 10. The edge flaps 24, the flanges 22 and those t the tool will be limited by those portions-Qf the .part-oflthelid. which are lying between th sht portions ,-,-{of;;the,l id and the enduwalls of the Said-,porti'onsare distance between th;e. :end: walls of .the box but greater than the distance between. the pre+cut.;points of vthe lid.

Zilttlzret-her the eutt-ing ytool, is held parallel to (the upper surface ofthe box or normal thereto, the penetration of foremost rigidly connected to the flanges atthe upper edges of the end walls and are thus able to resist the pressure of the tool wherebyithe contents of the box is not affected.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the mailing box comprises two .end 'walls 10, a front wall 12 having a closing flap 14 along its upper edge, a bottom 16, a rear wall 18 and a lid 20. The end walls 10 are provided with outwardly bent flanges 22 which are enclosed by edge flaps 24 integral'with those edges of thebottom, front and rear wall of the box which are adjacent to the parts of the bottom 16, the frontwa-ll 12 and rear wall 18 which are adjacent to the end walls, are secured to one another'by a suitable number of staples 26. The

mentioned parts maybe secured by other meansbut the I .use of staples'is preferred as an adhesive for example,

' requires some time .to set.

slits extend in the lid for a distance corresponding to the length of the portions of the side edges of the lid on which no edge flaps 28 are present but if desired, the length of the slits may be shorter to ensure that the slits condition of the box.

To make use of the box, the lid 20 is folded fully back from the position shown in Figure 1 so that the goods can be placed within the interior of the box. The lid is then folded down until the front edge thereof is close to the upper edge of the front wall 12. The edge flaps 30 of the which it is ready to be mailed, if desired upon gluing a sealing tape over the joint between the lid and the free edgeo f'the closing flap. I

When the box has to be opened at its destination, either to be emptiedzat oncejor to be utilised for exhibition purposes, the sealing tape, if any and the closing flap are cut. ToIfacilitate the cuttingoperation the closing flap 14 may be provided with'indicating or weakening lines 38 extending parallel to-andadiacent to its end edges and the edge flaps 28. Said lines also assist in obtaining a clean cut so thatthe closing flap whenin open condition, as shown in Figure 4, shows straight and neat edges. Upon opening of the'portion of'the lid between the slits 32 the contents of, the box are accessible. I I

The'inner surface of the-portion of the lid to be swung back, may be utilised for advertising, information about quality or other purpose, and, to make the box more characteristic or conspicuous, curved lines may beused for the slits 32,0r the weakening lines 38 or both As will be seen from Figure 4, theweakening lines 38 are placed closer to the end walls than are the slits 32 in the embodiment of the mailing box shown. Thus, the die or tool being used for cutting the lines 38, will engage the portions of the lid which are adjacent to the end walls, and as such portions are secured by means of the staples v36'to the flanges of the end Walls during and'upon the cutting operation the contents of the "box-will not be subjected to any pressure, or any substantial pressure,

from the tool.

What I claim is: I 1

A mailing box of'cardboard, or fibrous material, comprising two inset end walls, integral flanges along the edges of said end walls and protruding outwardly from the box, a bottom wall, a front wall, and a rear wall, edge flaps being connected to said bottom wall, front wall and rear Wall along the edges thereof adjacent the flanges of said end wall, said edge flaps being bent around said end Wall flanges in engagement with the inner surfaces of said flanges, and fastening means securing said edge flaps to said end wall fianges,'a ,lid, the rear edge of the latter being hingedly connected tothetupper edge of said rear wall, the front edge of said lid being adapted to extend adjacent the upper edge of said front wall upon closing said lid, side edge flaps being provided along the rearmost portions of the side edges of said lid and being foldable around the upper flanges of the inset end walls, whereby to engage the inner surface thereof for stabilization, a closing flap hingedly connected at one end of said walls to the upper edge of said front Wall of the box,'edge flaps provided along the full extent of the side edges of said closing flap, the edge flaps on the closing flap being foldable around the foremost portion of the upper flanges of said inset end walls, the rearmost portions of the side edges of the lid extending from the rear Wallof the box and forwardly, substantially terminating at the rear ends of the side flaps of the closing flap, When said box is in a closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Australia Nov. 22, 

